This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/162014/059271 filed 26 Feb. 2014, which designated the U.S. and claims priority to EP Patent Application No. 13157342.0 filed 28 Feb. 2013, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention generally relates to a sheet numbering process and a sheet-processing machine for carrying out such sheet numbering process. The invention is in particular applicable to the production of banknotes and like securities.
Banknotes and like securities are commonly produced in the form of individual sheets (or successive portions of a continuous web which are ultimately cut into sheets) each carrying a plurality of individual imprints arranged in a matrix of rows and columns, which sheets are subjected to various printing and processing steps before being cut into individual notes. Among the printing and processing steps typically carried out during the production of banknotes are offset printing, intaglio printing, silk-screen printing, foil application, letterpress printing and/or varnishing. Other processing steps might be carried out during the production such as window cutting, ink-jet marking, laser marking, micro-perforation, etc. Once fully printed, the sheets have to be subjected to a so-called finishing process wherein the sheets are processed, i.e. cut and assembled, to form note bundles and packs of note bundles.
Banknotes and like securities further have to typically meet strict quality requirements, especially concerning the printing quality thereof. Therefore, during the course of their production, banknotes or securities are typically inspected in order to detect, and advantageously mark, defective notes, i.e. notes exhibiting a low printing quality, printing errors, physical damages and the like, such that these defective notes can be sorted out. Inspection can be carried out at various stages of the production, manually, on-line on the printing or processing presses, and/or off-line on dedicated inspection machines. Final inspection of the banknotes is conveniently carried out prior to finishing as this will be explained hereinafter in reference to
Step 501 in
As a result of the various printing phases of step 501, successive sheets S are produced. While quality control checks are usually performed at various stages during the production of the securities, a final quality check is typically carried out on the full sheets S after these have been completely printed. This full-sheet quality inspection is schematised by step 502 in
Referring to steps 503 to 505, the entirely good sheets S0 are typically numbered at step 503, then optionally varnished at step 504, and finally cut and subjected to an ultimate finishing process at step 505, i.e. stacks of sheets S are cut into individual bundles of securities (such as banknote bundles) 200, which bundles 200 are typically banderoled (i.e. surrounded with a securing band) and then stacked to form packs of bundles 210. While the sheets S are processed in succession at steps 503 and 504, step 505 is usually carried out on stacks of hundred sheets each, thereby producing successive note bundles 200 of hundred securities each, which note bundles 200 are stacked to form e.g. packs 210 of ten note bundles each.
Referring to steps 520 to 523, the partially defective sheets S′ are firstly cut into individual notes at step 520 and the resulting securities are then sorted out at step 521 (based on the presence or absence of the cancellation mark previously applied on the defective imprints at step 502), the defective notes being destroyed at step 510, while the good notes are further processed at steps 522 and 523. At step 522, the individual securities are numbered in succession and subsequently subjected to a finishing process at step 523 which is similar to that carried out at step 505, i.e. note bundles of securities 200 are formed, which note bundles 200 are banderoled and then stacked to form packs of note bundles 210.
As regards the varnishing operation,
In case keeping the numbering sequence throughout the notes of successive bundles 200 is not required, the partially defective sheets S′ could follow a somewhat similar route as the entirely good sheets S0, i.e. be subjected to a full-sheet numbering step (thereby numbering both the good and defective imprints), then to full-sheet varnishing, before being cut into individual securities, sorted out to extract and destroy the defective securities, and then subjected to an ultimate finishing process to form note bundles and packs of note bundles (in this case single-note numbering would not be required).
In all of the above instances, the entirely good sheets S0 and the partially defective sheets S′ follow distinct routes and are numbered in separate numbering processes. This may create logistical problems in that the entirely good sheets S0 and the partially defective sheets S′ have to be routed to different locations and handled differently and separately.
European Patent Publication EP 1 808 391 A1 discloses, with reference to FIGS. 7A-7E thereof, a sheet numbering process whereby sheets carrying a plurality of imprints that are arranged in a matrix of rows and columns are first inspected with a view to identify specific groups of partly defective sheets where defects are concentrating within single columns of imprints and sorting these sheets in dependence of the relevant column where the defects are located Once sorted, the relevant sheets are numbered by causing the relevant numbering and imprinting machine to omit numbering in the individual columns where one or more defects have been identified or by removing the corresponding numbering devices from the numbering and imprinting machine.
A considerable disadvantage of this known process resides in the fact that it requires a complex sorting operation prior to the numbering operation. A further disadvantage of this known process resides in the fact that imprints that are not considered to be defective but that happen to be located within the same column where a defect is detected are not at all numbered, thus generating unnecessary waste. Furthermore, the process of EP 1 808 391 A1 requires individual and separate numbering of each specific group of partly defective sheets in dependence of the sorting of the sheets. This numbering is carried out on a separate numbering and imprinting machine which is pre-set in dependence of the relevant group of partly defective sheets to be numbered (namely by turning off or removing the relevant numbering devices) prior to undertaking the numbering operation.
There is therefore a need for an improved process of numbering sheets, and a sheet-processing machine enabling the same, which simplifies logistics as far as numbering of the sheets is concerned. There is furthermore a need for such an improved process of numbering sheets (and related sheet-processing machine) that is more flexible than the known solutions.
A general aim of the invention is therefore to provide an improved process of numbering sheets, and a sheet-processing machine enabling the same.
A further aim of the invention is to provide such a process of numbering sheets and related sheet-processing machine that allow a more efficient and centralized handling of the numbering of the sheets, especially of entirely good sheets as well as of partially defective sheets.
Another aim of the invention is to provide such a solution that allows more flexibility in the numbering schemes that are to be carried out on the sheets.
These aims are achieved thanks to the sheet numbering process and sheet-processing machine as defined in the claims.
Further advantageous embodiments of the invention form the subject-matter of the dependent claims and are discussed below.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention which are presented solely by way of non-restrictive examples and illustrated by the attached drawings in which:
The present invention will be described in the particular context of the production of banknotes. As already mentioned, banknotes are typically produced in the form of sheets each carrying a plurality of imprints which are arranged in a matrix of rows and columns.
Step 601 in
More precisely, the entirely good sheets S0 are subjected at step 603 to a full-sheet numbering process according to a first numbering scheme, designated by reference N1, and then sorted to a (first) sheet delivery pile unit at step 604. The partially defective sheets S′, on the other hand, are subjected at step 605 to a partial-sheet numbering process according to a second numbering scheme, designated by reference N2, which is different from the first numbering scheme N1, and then sorted to a (second) sheet delivery pile unit at step 606. The entirely defective sheets SX, which exclusively carry defective imprints, are not numbered and sorted to a (third) sheet delivery pile unit at step 607.
It is to be appreciated that full-sheet numbering at step 603 and partial-sheet numbering at step 605 are performed, according to the invention, at the same numbering location (i.e. on the same sheet-processing machine) without interruption of the numbering process. That is, numbering of the individual sheets S is selectively commutable between a first numbering scheme and at least a second numbering scheme, different from the first numbering scheme, without interruption of the numbering process. This will now be explained in greater detail with reference to
This first numbering scheme N1 can basically be any suitable numbering scheme. The first numbering scheme N1 is however preferably a so-called non-collating numbering scheme, i.e. a particular numbering scheme that allows continued and uninterrupted finishing of consecutively-numbered documents. Such a non-collating numbering scheme is disclosed in International Patent Publication No. WO 2004/016433 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and will not be described in great detail here. It suffices to understand that the sheets are numbered in successive runs of e.g. hundred sheets each and in such a way that each run of hundred sheets yields a corresponding number of consecutively-numbered documents.
Let us assume for the sake of illustration that one wishes to produce one million numbered notes with serial numbers ranging from “AA 000 000 000” to “AA 000 999 999”. As disclosed in International Patent Publication No. WO 2004/016433 A1, numbering can conveniently be carried out downwards from e.g. the starting number “AA 000 999 999” and by appropriately numbering the sheets as follows. One will assume that each sheet carries forty imprints that are arranged in a matrix of eight rows and five columns as for instance illustrated in
In accordance with International Patent Publication No. WO 2004/016433 A1 the subsequent ninety-nine sheets of the same run of hundred sheets are numbered in decreasing sequence, thereby leading to the last sheet of the first run (i.e. the hundredth sheet) being numbered in accordance with table (2) hereafter:
Stacking of the thus-numbered hundred sheets of the first run and row-wise and column-wise cutting of the stack thereby allows to produce an uninterrupted sequence of four thousand (forty times hundred) individual notes whose serial numbers form a consecutive sequence of serial numbers ranging from “AA 000 999 999” to “AA 000 996 000”.
In accordance with the teaching of International Patent Publication No. WO 2004/016433 A1 the first sheet of the next (i.e. second) run of hundred sheets is numbered with new serial numbers as starting numbers, namely in accordance with table (3) hereafter:
The subsequent ninety-nine sheets of the second run of hundred sheets are then likewise numbered in decreasing sequence, thereby leading to the production of another set of four thousand individual notes whose serial numbers form a consecutive sequence of serial numbers ranging this time from “AA 000 995 999” to “AA 000 992 000”, i.e. a set of notes directly following the numerical sequence of the previous set of four thousand notes mentioned above.
Production of one million notes according to the above-mentioned numbering scheme therefore requires two-hundred and fifty runs of hundred sheets, with the last sheet of the 250th run bearing the last series of serial numbers in accordance with table (4) hereafter:
In contrast to the entirely good sheets S0 which can conveniently be numbered according to the above non-collating numbering scheme, the partially defective sheets S′ cannot be numbered in the same way due to the presence of defective prints which would break the numbering sequence. One solution is therefore to number the partially defective sheets S′ by skipping the defective imprint(s) and adjusting the numbering sequence accordingly.
Let us look at
The location of the defective imprints PX can be indicated by a corresponding cancellation mark provided directly on the relevant defective imprint(s) PX or appropriately identifying the location(s) of the relevant defective imprint(s) PX. Various solutions are possible, including a specific cancellation mark X1 provided on the relevant defective imprint (for instance by means of a dedicated marking system) or, more advantageously, a cancellation mark X2 provided by means of the relevant numbering box (in which case the cancellation mark is located at the same location as the serial numbers SN2). Other solutions are possible, such as cancellation marks X3, X4 which are provided outside of the effective printed area 100 of the sheet S′.
Numbering of the partially defective sheet S′ of
Let us assume that the next partially defective sheet S′ to be detected as a result of the full-sheet inspection includes a single defective imprint PX located on the fifth row of the third column of the sheet, one could contemplate to number this second partially defective sheet S′ in accordance with table (6) hereafter:
According to this first variant of the second numbering scheme, one shall therefore understand that consecutive numbering sequences are formed in each imprint location, the defective imprints PX being skipped on a sheet by sheet basis.
According to another variant, the second numbering scheme may provide for the skipping of the defective imprints PX within each sheet as indicated by the following table (7)
Assuming once again, for the sake of illustration that the next partially defective sheet S′ to be detected as a result of the full-sheet inspection includes a single defective imprint PX located on the fifth row of the third column of the sheet, one could contemplate to number this second partially defective sheet S′ in accordance with table (8) hereafter:
Yet another possibility is to skip the serial number(s) of the defective imprint(s) PX altogether as schematically illustrated by
In the above example, one should therefore understand that serial numbers “YY 000 998 999”, “YY 000 996 299” and “YY 000 996 199” corresponding to the defective imprints PX are discarded serial numbers (SNx).
Assuming once again, for the sake of illustration that the next partially defective sheet S′ to be detected as a result of the full-sheet inspection includes a single defective imprint PX located on the fifth row of the third column of the sheet, one could contemplate to number this second partially defective sheet S′ in accordance with table (10) hereafter:
In this case, serial number “YY 000 997 998” corresponding to the defective imprint PX would likewise be a discarded serial number (SNx).
As illustrated in
In the context of the present invention, the control unit 50 is designed to selectively commute operation of the numbering system 20 between a first numbering scheme (such as the numbering scheme N1 discussed with reference to tables (1) to (4) and
Advantageously, the control unit 50 further controls a sheet delivery 30 of the sheet-processing machine 1 so as to suitably sort the sheets in corresponding sheet delivery pile units (31, 32, 33, . . . ) as generally illustrated in the flow chart of
As a further refinement, the sheet-processing machine 1 may further comprise a number inspection system 60 adapted to inspect a quality of the serial numbers (SN1, SN2, SN2′, . . . ) provided on the imprints. This number inspection system 60 could consist of a convenient OCR (Optical Character Recognition) system. However, considering that the serial numbers provided on the imprints are dependent on the relevant numbering scheme (N1, N2, N2′, . . . ) being carried out by the sheet numbering system 20 (and therefore dependent on the inspection results), it is much more convenient to ensure that inspection of the quality of the serial numbers is carried out in dependence of the operation of the numbering system 20. That is, the numbering system 20 preferably provides information to the number inspection system 60 as to the serial numbers which are expected to be printed onto the imprints and the number inspection system 60 checks that the actual printed serial numbers correspond to the expected numbers, in addition to other quality measurements such as ink smearing or over-/under-inking. Any quality deviation identified by the number inspection system 60 is fed back to the control unit 50 for appropriate sorting of the numbered sheet.
In the illustrated example, reference numeral 2 designates a sheet-feeder which feeds individual sheets S in succession to an inspection system 10. This inspection system 10 includes in this example three cameras 11, 12, 13, one (e.g. 11) being designed to advantageously perform transmissive inspection of the sheets, while the other two (e.g. 12, 13) are designed to respectively perform reflective inspection of the recto and verso sides of the sheets. Appropriate transport drums or cylinders 15 are provided in order to suitably transport the sheets past and in front of the three cameras 11, 12, 13.
Once inspected, the sheets are transferred via a pair of transfer cylinders or drums (not referenced) to the impression cylinder 25 of a numbering/printing group 3 of the sheet-processing machine 1. This numbering/printing group 3 includes the aforementioned sheet numbering system 20, which here takes the form of two numbering cylinder units each carrying a corresponding set of numbering boxes 21, resp. 22 which are inked by associated inking devices (not shown in
The number inspection system 60 is embodied in this example as an additional camera system that looks at the printed side of the numbered sheets, while those sheets are still supported by the impression cylinder 25.
A chain conveyor system 4 comprising spaced-apart gripper bars (not shown) ultimately takes the numbered sheets away from the impression cylinder 25 and transports these to the sheet delivery 30, where the sheets are appropriately sorted to corresponding sheet delivery pile units 31, 32, 33, 34. In this example, four sheet delivery pile units 31, 32, 33, 34 are provided. The first sheet delivery pile unit 31 can suitably be used in production for the delivery of entirely good sheets S0 which are numbered according to the aforementioned first numbering scheme N1. The second sheet delivery pile unit 32 can be used for the delivery of the partially defective sheets S′ which are numbered according to the aforementioned second numbering scheme N2 or N2′. The third sheet delivery pile unit 33, on the other hand, can be used for the delivery of entirely defective sheets SX which are not numbered (as well as for the delivery of any test sheets). This is obviously purely illustrative and more than one sheet delivery pile unit may be assigned to one and a same sheet type. For instance, the first and second sheet delivery pile units 31, 32 could be used as production pile units, in an alternate manner, to receive the entirely good sheets S0 numbered in accordance with the first numbering scheme N1, while the third sheet delivery pile unit 33 may be assigned to the partially defective sheets S′ and the fourth delivery pile unit 34 used as reject pile unit for the entirely defective sheets SX.
Another embodiment of the invention will now be discussed in reference to
In essence, as schematically illustrated by the flow chart of
The SPC numbering scheme could be any appropriate numbering scheme which would be differentiable from the numbering scheme used for actual production. As schematically depicted by
It is preferable to run the special SPC numbering scheme exclusively on entirely good sheets, which sheets are identified by reference S* in
The special SPC numbering scheme may alternately run on any type of sheets, even partially defective sheets, but it is more sensible to perform such numbering scheme on entirely good sheets as these are intended to allow more detailed inspection by a quality control department.
In the context of this particular embodiment, full-sheet quality inspection (i.e. step 602 in
In the context of this embodiment, it is advantageous to run the special SPC numbering scheme on a periodic basis (for instance every thousand entirely good sheet) so as to perform a representative sampling of the entire production at regular intervals.
Once the detailed inspection has been carried out by the quality control department, the statistical process control sheet(s) S* can be returned to production or destroyed, if required.
It will be apparent that suitable numbering boxes should be used in order to enable the selective commutation between the various numbering schemes. In that respect, partly or, preferably, fully flexible numbering boxes, such as the partly or fully-motorized numbering boxes disclosed in International Patent Publication No. WO 2007/148288 A2 (which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), as sold by the Applicant under the product designation NBX®, are highly advantageous.
Various modifications and/or improvements may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the annexed claims. For instance, in lieu of the partly or fully-motorized numbering boxes mentioned above, one could alternately make use of fully flexible numbering boxes as for instance disclosed in European Patent Publication No. EP 0 718 112 A1.
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13157342 | Feb 2013 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2014/059271 | 2/26/2014 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/132206 | 9/4/2014 | WO | A |
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